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Salmeterol

Medication long-acting beta-2 agonist respiratory
Aka: Seretide (with fluticasone)
Brands seen in Singapore: Seretide Accuhaler, Seretide Evohaler, Respiro, Salflumix Easyhaler
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Regular asthma or copd control, not sudden attacks
When to take
Seretide label: one inhalation twice daily, every day
Take with
An inhaled steroid · SG registers it only with fluticasone
Pros & cons
Pros
  • Smpc: regular asthma control with an inhaled steroid
  • Smpc: one inhalation twice daily, lowest effective dose
  • Smpc: 50/500 twice daily also covers copd symptoms
Cons
  • US label: laba alone raises asthma-death risk
  • Smpc: not for acute symptoms — a reliever is needed
  • Smpc: tremor, palpitations, headache can occur
Sources
  1. HSA — Listing of Registered Therapeutic Products (data.gov.sg open dataset, 5,511 rows, cached in full and filtered locally) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “All 10 registered salmeterol products are fluticasone-salmeterol combinations classified 'Prescription Only' — SERETIDE EVOHALER 25/50, 25/125, 25/250 · SERETIDE 50/100, 50/250, 50/500 ACCUHALER · RESPIRO · SALFLUMIX EASYHALER”
  2. UK SmPC — Seretide 500 Accuhaler (GlaxoSmithKline), section 4.1 Therapeutic indications, via emc · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Seretide is indicated in the regular treatment of asthma where use of a combination product (long-acting β2 agonist and inhaled corticosteroid) is appropriate”
  3. UK SmPC — Seretide 500 Accuhaler, section 4.2 Posology · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “One inhalation of 50 micrograms salmeterol and 500 micrograms fluticasone propionate twice daily … The dose should be titrated to the lowest dose at which effective control of symptoms is maintained.”
  4. UK SmPC — Seretide 500 Accuhaler, section 4.4 Special warnings and precautions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Seretide Accuhaler should not be used to treat acute asthma symptoms … Rarely, Seretide may cause cardiac arrhythmias … The pharmacological side effects of β2 agonist treatment, such as tremor, palpitations and headache, have been reported”
  5. UK SmPC — Seretide 500 Accuhaler, section 4.5 Interactions · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “β adrenergic blockers may weaken or antagonise the effect of salmeterol … The concomitant administration of ketoconazole should be avoided, unless the benefits outweigh the potentially increased risk of systemic side effects of salmeterol treatment”
  6. US FDA label for SEREVENT DISKUS (salmeterol xinafoate), section 2 Dosage and Administration, via openFDA (GSK, effective 2022-10-10) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “More frequent administration or a greater number of inhalations (more than 1 inhalation twice daily) is not recommended as some patients are more likely to experience adverse effects.”
  7. US FDA label for SEREVENT DISKUS, boxed warning and indications, via openFDA · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Long-acting beta2-adrenergic agonists (LABA), such as salmeterol … as monotherapy (without inhaled corticosteroids [ICS]) increase the risk of asthma-related death … Not indicated for relief of acute bronchospasm.”
  8. US FDA label for ADVAIR DISKUS (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol), section 2 Dosage and Administration, via openFDA (effective 2025-08-08) · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “The maximum recommended dosage is ADVAIR DISKUS 500/50 twice daily.”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.